Our car was under snow. The drinks in the trunk were frozen—the situation of the drinks looked dire. Loading the car while ice and snow blew about, some spraying into the car, freezing the windscreen further was not a bad experience. It also wasn’t a whole lot of fun either. Hot water is a magical potion when it comes to making an assault on ice. As we walked in and out the lodge carrying containers of boiling liquid (outside temperature of 18 F), the paradox was that there were a few swimmers in the indoor pool. It always tickles us to see what looks like an anomaly (swimmers in winter) although we understand it not to be. Could be we are very ticklish.
Traveling through southern Utah, which happens to be a great favorite, is a special treat. We drove along Highway 12 into the ‘Staircase’, a massive area filled with rugged beauty. As our elevation decreased, the snow disappeared but the temperature remained in the twenties—the sun shone, though. (It was a dry cold—sorry, could not resist.) Because we kept climbing and descending, we had changing landscapes throughout the short journey, arriving in Torrey where the wind froze our behinds…come to think of it, our fronts, too.
Along the way, we stopped in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. It makes life exciting when you pull over at a hidden trail and enjoy a spectacular hike all to yourselves. Truth be told, the hike was one of the most enjoyable experiences we have had. Sometimes it takes standing in vast open spaces to realize one’s position in the universe. The hike was relatively short but took place mostly on slick rocks. Today, we tested ourselves as we faced something that has always raised the fear level within, positioning on a rock face with an acute angle, no means of support below.
This time we scaled a rock/small mountain that felt vertical but of course, wasn’t. It was one of the situations where a person reaches half-way-up and then thinks, ‘Okay, this is probably a good place to stop and turn around’. Of course, that might be true but it also may be taking the easy way out, quitting. Long story short, we pushed up to the summit and then struggled down the steep gradient back to our editor. It turned out to be the second most exhilarating experience that we can remember. As we neared the top, we also realized that we were being selfish. Our dear editor was besides herself with worry***; we were acting incorrectly by doing what we did. We felt bad and apologized profusely. Nevertheless, we were so exhilarated that we felt we could almost reach the sky...and do it again.
A while back, one summer, we undertook the Lower-Calf Falls, a completely different hike miles away. We ended up swimming in the pool, below a powerful cascade of water. Today, showing a fine understanding of changing weather, we skipped the swim.
Another incredible day. It began in snow with little hope of anything exciting occurring. We took the gap and found an amazing opportunity somewhere in the Grand Staircase followed by a scenic drive into a freezing Torrey. The funny thing is that we could not remember at which motel we had booked. The editor is really showing her age.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
*** Correction. It turns out she was not that worried. Apparently, she was concerned about the car keys.
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